Ian's Tale
by LaRusic
Summary: My first shot into the world of writing. Playing on the fun fact that Ian could always manage to hit the broad side of the Vault Dweller. Rated T  for a bit of language right now, will go up in later chapters. Read and Review please!
1. Deadeye Or Dead Head?

After reviewing my story, I realized that I had very little to offer. So I added a bit to it and did some adjusting. Please read over and let me know what you think. I look forward to your reviews and I have more in the works as well! Thanks!

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><p>Les ducked behind the scorched car as a bullet ricocheted off the burnt metal… from behind him.<p>

"What the Hell, Ian?" He looked over his shoulder to the innocent looking man behind him. AS if the raiders in front of him were not enough, Ian apparently thought he would pop off a shot at him once again.

"Sorry! Not sure how that happened…" Ian shouted as he ripped off a shot that actually found its mark and dropped the last raider. He got up slowly, looking very interested in his own pistol. "Damn thing has a mind of its own sometimes…"

Les shook his head and rose, dusting the rust from his arms and chest. "Every time… Every. Single. Time. You manage to almost kill me in every fight we get into! Are you half blind or something?" Les was beyond frustrated, and rightfully so. Almost every time Ian drew his gun, Les ended up with an extra bullet in him, or a broken set of armor or even a hold in his boots. That was a creative shot there. "I mean, seriously, weren't you trained as a guard in the Hub?"

"Well, not really…" Ian glanced down to his ratty boots. "I mostly kept to the back and let the others shoot. My boss put me there after I nearly blew a caravan with a shot into a pack of TNT." Les crooked a brow at that one. "Besides, you were pretty much in front of me… kinda…"

"Right… let's just get keep going. I'm on a time limit here. And Ian… Keep that damn gun in its holster. I do not need another hole in my armor." Les growled and crouched and gave the fallen raiders a once over for any notable loot. Pocketing a bit of ammo and a handful of caps they started again. "I need to get to this vault soon. Our next stop is some city called Necropolis…"

Hours had passed with little problems. A couple run ins with some geckos and a very persistent merchant were the highlights of their trip.

"You know," started Ian, "I've been thinking. You come from one of them Vaults, right? So you're pretty new to all this jazz. How'd you get roped into this?"

Les sighed quietly, thinking back to his home Vault 13. He didn't realize, until Ian had mentioned, just how much he missed his cozy little room; the hours spent watching comedy holo tapes… Krystal… He shook his head and glanced over at Ian. "It's a long story. Let's just leave say something important broke and I got screwed into have to get a new one." His fists clenched, remember just how he go chosen for the task… Drawing straws… He couldn't believe his luck on that one. Les turned his eyes to the sky, the fading sun painting red on the few clouds remaining. "It was one of those 'volun-told' situations. Needless to say, I did not want to be the one to come out here."

Ian listened quietly, wondering at the ways of Vault people. "Hey, at least ya ran into me, eh? Not much fun wandering around out here by yourself. Not too safe either..."

Les smiled at that, looking back down to Ian. "Yeah… That's true." He paused and pointed over at a cluster of crumbling buildings. "What say we make camp there for the night, start fresh tomorrow?"

Ian nodded and looked around the area. "Yeah, that could work. You go in and get settled; I'll run the first watch. I'll wake you in a few hours." Ian patted him on the shoulder. "Things will get better, trust me."

If only…


	2. Ian to the Rescue Sort of

So here's my second chapter. A bit more to it than the first. Please read over and review. I didn't get any reviews for my first chapter, but I'm not surprised as there wans't anything really to it. So read it over and please let me know what you think!

Thanks!

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><p>"Ey Krak! We gots us a live one 'ere!"<p>

The darkness was broken by that harsh voice. Les blinked quickly, wondering where he was and just what was going on.

Last he remembered he had just settled into the crumbling building on the outskirts of the city. He and Ian had decided to set up camp inside to try and avoid the raiders they had run into. The raiders! They must have found them in the night. Damn it, Ian! He was supposed to be keeping watch.

His thoughts were broken by that voice once more.

"Wakin up, eh boyo? Krak! Git yer ass over 'ere!" Les heard some heavy footfalls coming towards him from the corner of the room. That didn't sound pleasant. He tried to move, but found that he was chained both to the ground and the wall. Great… He felt something cold and sharp slide across his throat, pressing back hard. "C'mon, boyo. Try sometin. I's been itchin ta kill somethin taday.." Les glared into the shadows, wishing he could see who, or what, was talking.

"Roight… Out da way, Lurr. Oi wants ta 'ave a lookit dis skrak..." Now that was a new voice, and on that Les did not enjoy at all. It was deep and grating and rattled through his head. He felt rough, fat fingers grip his chin and lift his head up. Hot breath poured over his face, reeking of rotting teeth. "Dun look loike much. But Oi bets we kin git at least a coupla caps outta Decker fer this skrag..." That didn't sound happy at all… Who was this Decker guy and why would he want him. "Well… Git this lump ready ta travel. Oi'll run 'im out ta the Hub in da mornin."

The Hub? Les had heard about that place from Ian. Supposed to be a clean cut business center for the Wasteland. What would a couple of raider pukes be taking him there for? Wait… they had just been talking about him so far… not Ian. Les' hopes rose. They didn't have Ian! Or… they had killed him. And that optimism sunk again. His only hope was riding on someone who was most likely dead…

"Nighty night, Skrag…" Lurr's voice cut back in, accompanied with a stab in his neck… and then his world started sinking into darkness again.

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><p>Ian woke with a start, yawning and stretching his arms back. Something was wrong. He froze and looked around. The sun was up and he was still on the roof. That wasn't right… OH SHIT! He jumped up and leapt down to the ground level and burst into the building. "Oh shit oh shit oh shit…" Nothing… No Les, no gear. Nothing. "SHIT!" He stood dumbfounded for a few long minutes. What was he going to do now? He had no idea what might have happened, where Les had gone or when he left. But Les wouldn't just leave, would he? It was too much for Ian. He dropped down onto a chunk of fallen ceiling and rested his head in his hands. He had to regroup and figure this out. Something must have happened. Ian lifted his eyes and took a long look around the room, trying to find something out of place. He got up slowly and paced the room. Nothing seemed different… except… He crouched and brushed aside a couple small chunks of rock.<p>

A glove… with the Khan's grinning skull printed on it.

Oh… Shit…

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><p>He was moving… at least he felt like his was moving. He himself still couldn't move though. Les opened his eyes slowly, adjusting to the bright light. He immediately wished he hadn't. Staring back at him was the slackened and sunken in face of an obviously dead man. He choked back a scream and tried in vain to shuffle back. This brought him the realization that he was in a cart filled with human bodies. Not many were still alive. He sighed and closed his eyes again. "Damn it, Ian…"<p>

"Shut it, skrag!" A quick, angry reply came back at him from the voice he knew to be Krak. Les grimaced. Great… He tried to look over his shoulder and managed to get a glimpse of the man at least. If he was a man, that is. The sight of Krak boggled Les' mind. He was huge. His shoulders and back looked like a slab of granite carved to look like a man. The brownish skin was riddled with scars and the muscles twitched like high tension coils. The back of his head was bald, but emblazoned with a tattoo of a grinning skull wearing a horned cap. Les thought hard as to what that might mean. He thought back to what Ian was telling him about the local raider groups. Vipers… Jackals… Khans… That had to be it. The Khans. He thought quickly about what might be coming. Maybe he could talk to this Decker and work this out. Or maybe a flaming mole rat will run by and blow up Krak… Yeah…

He was screwed…

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><p>Ian was running now, moving quickly through the city rubble. If the Khans had Les, they were going to one of two places. Their camp to the south of Shady Sands, or to the Hub. He had heard that Decker was expanding into slavery, but nothing had been confirmed. But this did it for him. He was pretty damn sure now that they were heading to the Hub. Decker was the head of the Hub Underground and the mastermind behind pretty much all of the crime in the Hub. Turns out that human life is quite profitable. Ian cursed himself out. "This is all my fault… How the hell did I sleep through this!"<p>

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunshots very close by. He paused and looked about quickly, mostly to see if he was the one being shot at. Looking in the direction he heard it coming from, he assessed his situation. He realized that he had run off with next to no ammo, no food and only one bottle of water. If he could help out and maybe get some scavenging done on this fight, he could restock and be in better shape to get Les. He sighed and started towards the fight.

Les heard the shots ring out and felt the blood splatter across his back. Krak was shouting orders and ripping off shots at the unknown assailants. Les took advantage of the situation to struggle himself up into a sitting position. Things weren't going very well for Krak's team. Four of the six raiders that came with him were dead, and the other two were injured. The attackers were wearing a dark green armor combo and three were carrying sniper rifles. The fourth was carrying a weapon that Les had never seen before in his life. It looked like a big green box with a three pronged fork sticking out of it. He cringed when he saw it discharge. It fired off a small bolt of green plasma that reduced the raider it hit to a puddle of steaming green goo. Les' eyes widened and he decided that he would lie back down to avoid a cross fire.

Krak roared in defiance and dropped one of the four with a well placed shot to the head, reducing the man's face to the consistency of raw Brahmin meat. That was quickly met with three rounds finding a home in Krak's chest, sending the giant toppling back into the cart and on top of Les.

"He's down, sir!" Shouted one of the three remaining guard, shouldering his rifle and turning to the plasma caster wielding man.

"Good. Secure that cart and get what you can from that raider filth." The man looked stern, doling out orders in a hard, steeled voice. Les liked the sound of that voice. Much better than Krak's. "Get me out of here!" Les shouted as loud as he could, hoping one of the guards would hear him. He shifted and tried to sit up, but his blood ran cold when he saw Krak's very angry face glaring at him with his rifle muzzle pushed again Les' face.

"If Oi's dyin, yer comin wit…" Krak's rumbling voice was cut off as the side of his face exploded in a haze of bone, flesh and grey matter. Les blinked slowly, blood dripping from his chin and nose. What just happened? He looked up slowly into the face he was least expecting to see.

"Ian…? The Hell?" A little more than stunned, he just stared at Ian as the rest of the guards approached the cart. Then Les' anger came back to the surface. "What the bloody fuck happened to you!" Ian flinched and reached in to help Les out of the cart.

"Look, I'm sorry. I… well… I fell asleep on the roof of the building. They must've crept in and grabbed you then. I started tracking the Khans and ran into these four… eh… three now. They've been tracking them too. Turns out they're from the Hub. They've been hunting this raider punk for a long time." Ian dusted the assorted bits of Krak off Les' shoulders and head as he continued. "They have been trying to figure out who he works for and where he's based."

Les perked up at that, a grin playing onto his face. Turning to the man with the plasma caster, he cleared his throat  
>"What that's info worth to your boss?"<p> 


End file.
